Study Permits

This application is for people who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada and who wish to study temporarily in Canada. A study permit is issued if the application is accepted. A temporary resident visa may also be required.

Before You Apply

Before you can apply for a study permit, you must have been accepted at a recognized school, university or college in Canada.

Who Can Apply

To be eligible to study in Canada:

• You must have been accepted by a school, college, university or other educational institution in Canada.
• You must prove that you have enough money to pay for your:
  • Tuition fees.
  • Living expenses for yourself and any family members who come with you to Canada and return transportation for yourself and any family members who come with you to Canada.
• You must be a law-abiding citizen with no criminal record and not be a risk to the security of Canada. You may have to provide a police certificate.
• You must be in good health and willing to complete a medical examination, if necessary.
  You must satisfy an immigration officer that you will leave Canada when you have completed your studies.

After Applying

The status of your application:
Processing times may vary depending on the Canadian visa office where you submitted your application. Usually it takes a few months.
The visa officer will review your application. If it is incomplete, it will not be processed- it will be returned to you. If it is complete, the visa officer will decide if an interview is necessary.

If your application is approved

You will receive a letter of introduction confirming the approval. Bring the letter to immigration officials at the point of entry when you arrive in Canada. A temporary resident visa (TRV) will also be issued if you are from a designated country for which Canada requires a visa. This will be your passport. The expiry date on this visa indicates the date by which you must enter Canada.

If you application is not approved

You will receive a letter from the visa office explaining why your application has been refused. If you have questions about your refusal, contact the visa office that issued the refusal letter.

Arriving in Canada

When you arrive in Canada, you will be met by an officer from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
You should be ready to show the following documents:

• A valid passport or travel document.
• The letter of introduction from the visa office that you received when your study permit was approved (this letter contains your permit reference number and the CBSA officer needs this letter to issue your study permit).
• A valid temporary resident visa (if required).
• A copy of the letter of acceptance from the school at which you are permitted to study.
• Proof that you have enough money to support yourself during your stay in Canada and
  letters of reference or any other documents recommended by the visa office where you applied.

Work permits for students – Working after graduation

If you want to work in Canada after you graduate from your studies, you must apply for a work permit under the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program.

Post-Graduation Work Permit Program

The Post-Graduation Work Permit Program allows students who have graduated from a participating Canadian post-secondary institution to gain valuable Canadian work experience.

A work permit under the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program may be issued for the length of the study program, up to a maximum of three years. A Post-Graduation work permit cannot be valid for longer than the student’s study program, and the study program must be a minimum of eight months in length. For example, if you graduate from a four-year degree program, you could be eligible for a three-year work permit if you meet the criteria. If you graduate from an eight-month certificate program, you would be eligible for a work permit that is valid for no more than eight months.

Work permits for students: Working after graduation – Who can apply

To obtain a work permit after your graduation, you must meet the following requirements:

• You must have studied full time in Canada and you must have completed a program of study that lasted at least eight months.
  In addition, you must have graduated from:
  • A public post-secondary institution, such as a college, trade/technical school, university or CEGEP (in Quebec).
  • Or, a private post-secondary institution that operates under the same rules and regulations as public institutions (currently only qualifying programs of 900 hours or longer leading to the Diplôme d’études collégiales (DEC) or Attestation d’études collégiales (AEC) at private college-level educational institutions in Quebec are eligible),
  • Or, Canadian private institution authorized by provincial statute to confer degrees but only if you are enrolled in one of the programs of study leading to a degree as authorized by the province and not in all programs of study offered by the private institution.
• You must apply for a work permit within 90 days of receiving written confirmation (for example, a transcript or an official letter) from your institution indicating that you have met the requirements for completing your academic program.
• You must have completed and passed the program of study and received a notification that you are eligible to obtain your degree, diploma or certificate.
• You must have a valid study permit when you apply for the work permit.
  NOTE: If you have graduated from a vocational or professional training program at a public or private secondary institution in Quebec, regulated by the Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport (MELS), you may be eligible to apply for a Post-Graduation Work Permit. In addition, applicants must:
• Be 18 years of age or older at the time of application;
  Have a valid study permit when you apply for the work permit;
• Have completed a full time program that lasted 900 hours or more (normally eight months in length), leading to a Diplôme d’études professionnelles (DEP) or an Attestation de spécialisation professionnelle (ASP);
• Apply for a work permit within 90 days of receiving written confirmation (for example, a transcript or an official letter) from your institution indicating that you have met the requirements for completing your academic program;
• Provide a supporting letter from your institution outlining the duration of studies and the program code.

Impact of length of program of study in Canada and the length of the work permit

A Post-Graduation Work Permit cannot be valid longer than the official length of your program of study in Canada. For example, students graduating from a four-year degree program might be eligible for a three-year year work permit. Students graduating from an eight-month certificate program would only be eligible for a work permit of eight months.
If the official length of your program of study is:

• Less than eight months, you are not eligible for this program.
• Less than two years but more than eight months, you may get a work permit for a period no longer than the length of your program of study (for example, if you studied for nine months, a work permit may be issued for a period of nine months).
• Two years or more, a work permit may be issued for three years.

You are not eligible for the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program if you:

• Study in a program that is less than eight months long.
• Participate in a Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship Program funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT).
• Participate in a Government of Canada Awards Program funded by DFAIT.
• Receive funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
  participate in the Equal Opportunity Scholarship, Canada-Chile.
• Participate in the Canada-China Scholars Exchanges Program.
• Participate in the Organization of American States Fellowships Program.
• Participate in a distance learning program either from abroad or from within Canada.
• Have previously been issued a Post-Graduation Work Permit following any other program of study.

Article made by PACE Law Firm – Canada